FREE Email Newsletter

Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

DETROIT (AP) — Safety investigators are looking into possible transmission problems in some 2011 and 2012 Ford Mustang models and fuel lines in 2011 Volkswagen Jettas.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects says on its website Sunday that it has received 32 complaints about an unexpected inability to shift into gear on Mustangs with manual transmissions.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp., which has sunk to No. 3 in global vehicle sales from pole position, is counting on emerging markets to drive a revival in its fortunes, one of its top India executives says.
Toyota sold 3.7 million vehicles around the world in the first half of 2011, down 11 percent from a year earlier as sales crashed 62 percent in April-June on production disruptions caused by the March earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Congress gets back to work after Labor Day it will have the chance to achieve something that has largely eluded it for the entire year, passing legislation that might actually create jobs.
With the battering debate over the debt ceiling over, the stage is set for Congress to approve and President Barack Obama to sign three big free-trade agreements and the most significant overhaul of the patent system in 60 years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Honda is recalling about 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S. to update the software on the automatic transmission to decrease the possibility of transmission damage.
The recall affects certain 2005-2010 4-cylinder Accord, 2007-2010 CR-V and 2005-2008 Element vehicles.

Asahi/America, Inc. (Malden, MA) has expanded their line of valves to include the Type 57IL Isolator Lug butterfly valve. The Type 57IL features a unique lug design where the 316 stainless steel lugs are inserted into the valve body during the injection molding process, permanently combining the lugs and valve body into one unit.

Stainless steel, direct acting, two-way solenoid valves from Magnatrol Valve Corporation (Hawthorne, NJ) are ideal for controlling the flow of steam, hot fluids, and cryogenic fluids. Available in 3/8 and 1/2 inch sizes, the valves require no differential pressure to open and are easily serviced while in the pipeline.

Meggitt (Fribourg, Switzerland) has added a velocity sensor that works with all condition and health monitoring systems to its Vibro-Meter product line. The PV 102 is a 100mV/inch/second piezoelectric velocity sensor for vibration monitoring of turbomachinery and other rotating equipment. The certified version of the PV 102 carries ATEX, IEC, and CSA hazardous area certifications.

NEWPORT, Vt. (AP) — Vt. Gov. Peter Shumlin and U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy are going to announce a plan by a South Korean biotechnology company to build a facility in Newport that will eventually employ about 200 people.
The announcement is planned for Friday in Newport.
The project is being put together by Jay Peak ski area president Bill Stenger who is partnering with South Korean company AnC Bio to build a $50 million plant that will be called AnC Bio Vermont.

WARSAW, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana company that makes hip replacements and other artificial joint products is planning to spend $27 million on manufacturing and research equipment.
Warsaw-based DePuy (duh-PEW') Orthopaedics expects to spend $20 million on manufacturing equipment and $7 million on research and development equipment and have it installed before 2014.

Boeing painted the numbers "7-4-7" in the skies from Minnesota to California on the final test flight for its new jumbo jet.
A map on the flight-tracking service FlightAware shows that the plane left the airport in Everett, Washington, and flew over Montana, south to California, and back north working its way across North Dakota and Minnesota, with trips as far south as New Mexico and Oklahoma, to spell out "747.

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Lane County's fragile recreational-vehicle manufacturing industry could find hope in an unexpected place — green technology.
The Eugene Register-Guard reports RV manufacturer Country Coach has plans to develop a diesel-electric hybrid, but that plan will have to wait as the local luxury motor coach industry tries to survive.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The operator of a Springdale, Ark. turkey plant responsible for a massive ground turkey recall was searching for answers Thursday to what caused a salmonella outbreak that's been linked to one death and at least 77 illnesses.
Officials at the meat giant Cargill were trying to determine how a strain of salmonella got into ground turkey shipped from northwest Arkansas, said company spokesman Mark Klein.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama proposed tax credits for businesses and other initiatives on Friday to help some of America's 1 million military veterans find work. He also vowed to press Congress to get busy on legislation to provide more near-term jobs in general when lawmakers return from their recess in September.

In an emergency situation, first responders need immediate access to keys, maps, and emergency contact lists. Crisis managers within the organization also need fast access to information -- and a crisis is not the right time to be gathering it. Responders cannot waste precious time to look for someone in charge, enter the facility, then search out maps and access materials such as combinations to locks, door keys, and cardkeys.

Show your customers that you don’t just offer them a commodity or a product, you offer them a solution—and one they might not even quite know how to ask for, at that.
Fate somehow selected the hottest weekend of the summer for me to move into my new house.

Visitors to a Tokyo museum can now see the March 11 tsunami that devastated northern Japan as though they were watching it from outer space.
If you're having trouble watching this video, try downloading the latest version of Flash Player or contacting your IT department.

SOUTH HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Morton Salt Co. has asked South Hutchinson city authorities for a 10-year tax abatement as it plans to upgrade its salt evaporation plant.
In its application, the company says it wants to invest $7 million in the renovations to modernize the century-old plant, according to The Hutchinson News.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina maker of industrial cranes says it's closing a manufacturing plant by the end of the year, putting about 90 people out of work.
WWAY reported Thursday that Terex Cranes will shut down production in Wilmington, where it assembles and fabricates tower cranes.